U.S. patent number 4,161,059 [Application Number 05/814,357] was granted by the patent office on 1979-07-17 for method of fastening to a belt.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Uniroyal, Inc.. Invention is credited to Edgar Francois.
United States Patent |
4,161,059 |
Francois |
July 17, 1979 |
Method of fastening to a belt
Abstract
A fastening device for fastening together flexible belts having
reinforcing cords therein and a method of fastening in which damage
to the reinforcing cords of the belts is minimized. The fastening
device may also be utilized to attach a rigid plate having an
aperture therein to a flexible belt having reinforcing cords
therein to minimize damage to the reinforcing cords of the
belt.
Inventors: |
Francois; Edgar (Bethel,
CT) |
Assignee: |
Uniroyal, Inc. (New York,
NY)
|
Family
ID: |
25214821 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/814,357 |
Filed: |
July 11, 1977 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
29/432; 227/68;
24/31H; 29/512; 29/523; 403/408.1; 474/257 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65G
15/30 (20130101); B65G 17/44 (20130101); F16G
3/16 (20130101); B65G 2201/04 (20130101); Y10T
29/49833 (20150115); Y10T 24/1688 (20150115); Y10T
29/4994 (20150115); Y10T 403/75 (20150115); Y10T
29/4992 (20150115) |
Current International
Class: |
B65G
17/44 (20060101); B65G 15/30 (20060101); B65G
17/30 (20060101); F16G 3/16 (20060101); F16G
3/00 (20060101); B23P 011/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;29/432,512,526,523
;24/31B,31H ;227/58,61,54,68 ;403/408 ;74/231J,216.5 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Moon; Charlie T.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Blank; Charles A.
Claims
I claim:
1. The method of fastening together flexible belts having
reinforcing cords therein comprising:
piercing each belt with a piercing tool having a sleeve thereon to
form an aperture in each belt, thereby positioning a sleeve in each
of said apertures formed in said belts, said piercing tool being
effective to minimize breaking of said reinforcing cords;
terminating the ends of each of said sleeves substantially at the
surfaces of each belt;
positioning reinforcing plate means having apertures aligned with
said apertures of said belts on each side of said belts; and
joining said belts by bolting together said plate means and said
belts with bolts extending through said sleeves.
2. The method in accordance with claim 1 in which each of said
sleeves has one flared end when positioned in said apertures and in
which the step of terminating the ends of each of said sleeves
substantially at the surfaces of each belt includes the step of
flaring the other end of each of said sleeves.
3. The method of fastening together a rigid plate having an
aperture therein and a flexible belt having reinforcing cords
therein comprising:
piercing said belt with a piercing tool having a sleeve thereon to
form an aperture in said belt; thereby positioning the sleeve in
said aperture formed in said belt, said piercing tool being
effective to minimize breaking of said reinforcing cords;
terminating the ends of said sleeve substantially at the surface of
the belt;
determining the relative positions of said rigid plate and said
belt to align said aperture of said rigid plate and said aperture
of said belt;
and fastening together said plate and said belt with a bolt
extending through said aperture of said plate and through said
sleeve.
4. The method in accordance with claim 3 in which said sleeve has
one flared end when positioned in said aperture and in which the
step of terminating the ends of said sleeve substantially at the
surface of the belt includes the step of flaring the other end of
said sleeve.
Description
This invention relates to a fastening device and to a method of
fastening together flexible belts, such as conveyor belts, having
reinforcing cords therein.
As used herein, the term "cords" is intended to include threads,
filaments, yarns, wires, cables, bands, braids and the like.
Heretofore, fastening devices for fastening together conveyor belts
have used conventional nut and bolt arrangements. It has been
common practice to predrill holes through the belt through which a
bolt can pass. This drilling caused destruction of the internal
reinforcing cords at that location, reducing the strength of the
belt and the pullout resistance of the fastening device.
It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a
new and improved fastening device, which avoids the above-mentioned
disadvantage of prior such devices.
It is another object of the invention to provide a new and improved
fastening device which has increased pullout resistance.
It is another object of the invention to provide a new and improved
method of fastening together flexible belts having reinforcing
cords therein which minimizes destruction of the reinforcing
cords.
It is another object of the invention to provide a new and improved
method of fastening a rigid plate to a flexible belt having
reinforcing cords therein which minimizes destruction of the
reinforcing cords.
In accordance with the invention, a fastening device for attaching
a rigid plate having an aperture therein to a flexible belt having
reinforcing cords therein comprises an aperture in the belt and a
sleeve in the aperture of the belt. The aperture of the belt and
the sleeve therein are positioned to minimize breaking of the
reinforcing cords of the belt. The fastening device also includes a
bolt extending through the aperture of the plate and through the
sleeve. The fastening device also includes a nut on the bolt
tightening the belt and plate together.
Also in accordance with the invention, a fastening device for
fastening together flexible belts having reinforcing cords therein
comprises an aperture in each of the belts and a sleeve in the
aperture of each belt. Each of the apertures and each of the
sleeves therein is positioned to minimize breaking of the
reinforcing cords of the belts. The fastening device also includes
reinforcing plate means on each side of the belts and extending
from one belt to the other and having apertures aligned with the
apertures of the belts. The fastening device also includes a bolt
extending through each of the sleeves and the aligned apertures of
the plate means. The fastening device also includes a nut on each
of the bolts tightening the belts and plate means together.
Also in accordance with the invention, the method of fastening
together flexible belts having reinforcing cords therein comprises
piercing each belt with a piercing tool having a sleeve thereon to
form an aperture in each belt, thereby positioning a sleeve in each
of the apertures formed in the belts. The piercing tool is
effective to minimize breaking of the reinforcing cords. The method
also includes the steps of positioning reinforcing plate means
having apertures aligned with the apertures of the belts on each
side of the belts and joining the belts by bolting together the
plate means and the belts with bolts extending through the
sleeves.
Also in accordance with the invention, the method of fastening
together a rigid plate having an aperture therein and a flexible
belt having reinforcing cords therein comprising piercing the belt
with a piercing tool having a sleeve thereon to form an aperture in
the belt, thereby positioning a sleeve in the aperture formed in
the belt, the piercing tool being effective to minimize breaking of
the reinforcing cords. The method also includes the steps of
determining the relative positions of the reinforcing plate and the
belt to align the aperture of the reinforcing plate and the
aperture of the belt and fastening together the plate and the belt
with a bolt extending through the aperture of the plate and through
the sleeve.
For a better understanding of the present invention, together with
other and further objects thereof, reference is had to the
following description, taken in connection with the accompanying
drawings, and its scope will be pointed out in the appended
claims.
Referring now to the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, plan view of a belting fabric which may be
utilized to reinforce a belt to be fastened;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an insert used in the fastening
device of the invention;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the FIG. 2 insert positioned on a
piercing tool partially piercing a belt with the FIG. 1 fabric
therein;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the FIG. 2 insert positioned on the
piercing tool and positioned in the belting fabric;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the belt having an insert positioned
therein and being set in the belt by a setting tool used to form
the end of the insert;
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, sectional view of conveyor belts fastened
together by a fastening device constructed in accordance with the
invention;
FIG. 7 is a fragmentary, perspective view of elevator buckets
fastened to a conveyor belt with fastening devices constructed in
accordance with the invention;
FIG. 8 is an enlarged, sectional view of an elevator bucket
fastened to a conveyor belt with a fastening device constructed in
accordance with the invention taken along line 8--8 of FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is a fragmentary, perspective view of channels fastened to a
conveyor belt with fastening devices constructed in accordance with
the invention;
FIG. 10 is an enlarged, sectional view of a channel fastened to a
conveyor belt with a fastening device constructed in accordance
with the invention taken along line 10--10 of FIG. 9;
FIG. 11 is a fragmentary, sectional view of conveyor belts fastened
together by a fastening device constructed in accordance with the
invention and including a hinged fastener.
Referring now more particularly to FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is
represented, for example, a belting fabric such as described in
U.S. Pat. No. 3,148,710. The belting fabric has a plurality of
parallel warps 10 and a plurality of parallel wefts 11 transversely
positioned above and below the warps 10. Two binders 12, 13, are
provided between each of the adjacent warps 10. The binders 12, 13
interlace the wefts 11 above and below the warps 10. This fabric is
suitable for reinforcing single ply belts. The fabric described in
U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,892 is suitable for multi-ply belts which, for
example, might also be used with a fastening device of the present
invention. The invention may be used in connection with single ply
or multi-ply belting fabric of any description.
Referring now more particularly to FIG. 2 of the drawings, there is
represented, in section, a sleeve for positioning in an aperture of
a flexible belt having reinforcing cords therein, the aperture of
the belt and the sleeve therein being positioned to minimize
breaking of the reinforcing cords of the belt. The sleeve 14
preferably is a hollow metal sleeve preferably having a preformed
end 15 at one end thereof. The cylindrical body portion of the
rivet may have a length which is preferably slightly greater than
the thickness of the belt to which the fastener is to be applied. A
soft metal is preferred for the insert, for example, aluminum,
copper or brass. For use with 1/4 inch diameter bolt, the inner
diameter of the insert may be, for example, 9/32 inch to provide
clearance. The wall thickness of the insert preferably is in the
range of 0.015 to 0.060 inch, or example, 0.020 inch. If the wall
thickness of the cylindrical body portion is increased above 0.020
inch, it would be desirable to provide a chamfer on the cylindrical
end to provide easy insertion through the belt and prevent cord
damage.
Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 3 and 4, the method of
fastening together flexible belts having reinforcing cords therein
comprises piercing each belt 16 with a piercing tool 17 of, for
example, steel having a sleeve thereon to form an aperture in each
belt, thereby positioning a sleeve in each of the apertures formed
in the belts. The piercing tool 17 may hold the sleeve in position
by a suitable mechanical means such as a spring-loaded ball 17b in
a plug 17c inside the tool 17. The piercing tool 17 is effective to
minimize breaking of the reinforcing cords 10, 11 and binders 12,
13 because the pointed tool 17 when driven through the belt will
probably pass between the reinforcing cords 10, 11 and binders 12,
13. However, if the piercing tool 17 is in direct alignment with
one of the reinforcing cords 10, 11 and binders 12, 13 and if the
piercing action is sufficient to rupture that cord or binder, it
will rupture only that single cord or binder. Thus, the damage done
to the strength of the belting fabric is none or negligible. The
sleeve 14 then slides through the material, for example, natural or
synthetic elastomeric material, of the belt without rupturing any,
or at most, a minimal number of the reinforcing cords and binders.
This step is performed without predrilling any hole through the
belt. The piercing tool 17 is then removed leaving the sleeve 14 in
the belt.
With the metal sleeve 14 extending below the lower surface of the
belt, the belt is then turned over with the metal sleeve extending
above the belt. The method preferably includes the step of flaring
the end of each sleeve 14. This may be accomplished by using a
setting tool 18 to flare the upper end of the sleeve 14 against the
tool 18. If the unflared end of the sleeve 14, after being driven
through the belt, is flushed with the lower surface of the belt or
is only slightly below the lower surface of the belt, it may not be
necessary to use the setting tool to flare the end of sleeve
14.
As represented in FIG. 6, the method includes the steps of
positioning reinforcing plate means comprising plates 21, 22 having
apertures aligned with the apertures of the belts 16, 16a on each
side of the similar belts 16, 16a, and joining the belts 16, 16a by
bolting together the plates 21, 22 with bolts 24, 25 extending
through the sleeves 14. The bolts 24, 25 are secured by nuts 26, 27
to tighten the belts and plates together. The flared ends of the
sleeves 14 are then embedded in the belts.
Referring now more particularly to FIG. 7 of the drawings, there is
represented an inclined conveyor belt 30 having buckets 31, 31
attached thereto by fastening devices 33 constructed in accordance
with the invention. The bucket 31 has a rigid back plate 32
attached to one side of the belt 30 represented in FIG. 8, by a
bolt 34 extending through sleeve 35 and having a head 36 wider than
the sleeve on the other side of the belt and tightened against the
plate by a nut. The sleeve 35 may be similar to the sleeve 14 of
FIG. 6. The belt 30 has reinforcing cords and binders (not shown)
which may be similar to the FIG. 1 belting fabric and the belt 30
may be similar to the belts 16, 16a. The method of fastening
together the rigid plate 32 having an aperture therein and a
flexible belt having reinforcing cords therein comprises piercing
the belt 30 with a piercing tool having a sleeve 35 in a manner
similar to that previously described in connection with FIGS. 3 and
4 to form an aperture in the belt, thereby positioning the sleeve
in the aperture formed in the belt. As previously described, the
piercing tool is effective to minimize breaking of the reinforcing
cords. The sleeve 35 preferably has one flared end similar to the
sleeve 15 when positioned in the aperture and the method preferably
includes the step of flaring the other end of the sleeve in a
manner similar to that described in connection with FIG. 5. The
method also includes the step of determining the relative positions
of the reinforcing plate and the belt to align the aperture of the
reinforcing plate and the aperture of the belt. The method also
includes the step of fastening together the plate 32 and the belt
30 with a bolt 34 extending through the aperture of the plate and
through the sleeve 35.
Referring now more particularly to the FIG. 9, there is represented
a horizontal belt 40, which may be similar to the belt 30, having
rigid metal channels 41 with rigid plates 42 attached to the belt
40 by fastening devices 43 constructed in accordance with the
invention. As represented in FIG. 10, a bolt 44 extends through a
sleeve 45 similar to the previously described sleeves and is
tightened against the plate 42 by a nut 46.
Referring now more particularly to FIG. 11, there is represented,
in section, a fastening device constructed in accordance with the
invention for fastening together two belts 50, 50a similar to belts
16, 16a of FIG. 6 in which the reinforcing plate means 51, 52, 53,
54 on each side of the belts comprise a hinged fastener 55, for
example, a flexible hinged fastener made by Flexible Steel Lacing
Company under the trademark Flexco Hinged No. 550 1. The hinged
fastener 55 has a hinged pin 56. The other members of the fastening
device of FIG. 11 are similar to those of the FIG. 6 device and the
method of fastening together the FIG. 11 belts is similar to the
method described in connection with FIG. 6.
While there have been described what are at present considered to
be the preferred embodiments of this invention, it will be obvious
to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications
may be made therein without departing from the invention, and it
is, therefore aimed, to cover all such changes and modifications as
fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *